Durkon Thundershield
Durkon Thundershield was the party cleric of the Order of the Stick, hired by Roy Greenhilt. He served as a healer, spiritual adviser and backup melee fighter (often using Thor's might). A 55-year-old Dwarf, Durkon was the party's Cleric, with Thor as his deity. His chosen domains were Air and Good (evidenced through his ability to cast Control Winds and Holy Smite, respectively). He is currently a vampire, due to his death and reanimation at the hands of the vampire Malack. Character History Pre-Order Durkon was born in the dwarven lands and stayed there throughout his early life. He joined the temple of Thor as a cleric and lived within its walls. Seventeen years prior to the formation of the Order of the Stick, Durkon was visited by Hurak, the high priest of Thor, who informed him that the deity had selected him for a mission to human lands. Durkon was to remain with humans indefinitely, ostensibly until he was summoned home to act as a cultural instructor to his people. However, the true reason for the "mission" was that the priest of Odin had arrived at the temple that morning with a prophecy that, when Durkon next returned home, he would bring death and destruction upon his people. In order to thwart the prophesy, the high priest had no intention of ever calling Durkon home, leaving him effectively banished for life; possibly an unnecessary deception, as given Durkon's extreme sense of duty, he might well have accepted lifelong banishment for the good of his people. Durkon made his way to human lands, where he almost immediately got off onto the wrong foot with the first humans that he met, then was appalled to discover that the best beer in human lands tasted, in his opinion, like moose urine. Fourteen years later, Durkon was part of an adventuring group. Having grown surly and unpleasant as a result of his experiences, he was frequently sent on apparently suicidal missions by his allies. When his party accepted a mission to deal with a group of orcs who were causing problems in a nearby village, Durkon was paired with a newly recruited fighter, Roy Greenhilt. In the course of another suicide mission, Roy threw himself in the way of an attack that the dwarf hadn't seen coming, earning a measure of trust from the dwarf. When Roy subsequently negotiated a peaceful settlement between the village and the orcs, who it turned out were only in the area for a concert, Durkon came to realize that there was at least one human worth knowing. Roy left the group, which had simply wanted to slaughter the orcs, that being quicker and more convenient than negotiating, and Durkon followed him, agreeing to be a part of any party the fighter subsequently founded. Roy and Durkon traveled together for the next three years, searching for clues to the whereabouts of the lich, Xykon. Finally getting the information that they needed from the Oracle of Sunken Valley, they came to the conclusion that more allies would be required to assault Xykon's stronghold. Returning to a nearby town, Roy recruited four other adventurers to join the party, and the Order of the Stick was born. The Order of the Stick Durkon had been a highly effective member of the team since its formation. As team cleric, his healing spells were often in demand and he served well alongside his friend Roy as one of the Order's front line warriors. During his time with the party, he had a brief relationship with Hilgya Firehelm, a female dwarf cleric of Loki and was also briefly the leader of a group of bandits. As a prize from his adventures, he possessed an Amulet of Natural Armor and could also still had the Girdle of Feminity/Masculinity which Roy discarded after Durkon helped him remove it with a Remove Curse spell. As a boon from Lord Shojo of Azure City, a messenger, in this case Miko Miyazaki, was sent to Durkon's homeland to obtain permission from the High Priest of Thor to allow Durkon home. Hurak had died years ago, and the new High Priest could find in his predecessor's notes no mention of or justification for Durkon's ostracism; he wrote for Durkon to come home at any time. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given the original reason for his exile), the letter was eaten by The Monster In The Darkness. The message was in a sealed diplomatic pouch, making any verbal communication of the message impossible, as the courier, the now-deceased Miko Miyazaki was far too honourable to have opened it up. When the Order revisited the Oracle of Sunken Valley to gain new information about Xykon's whereabouts, Durkon asked "How will I finally be returnin' ta me beloved dwarven homelands?", the Oracle answered, "Posthumously". Durkon, who had previously believed that he would die in human lands and his body torn apart by animals or left to rot, found comfort in this idea, knowing that he would ultimately be reunited with his family. How this foretelling will affect or be affected by the prophecy of Odin is unknown, though it may have something to do with his current state as a vampire. Death He was killed by the vampire lizardman, Malack, expressing acceptance, because he believed he could finally return home now. Immediately afterwards, Malack raised him as a vampire using an unspecified spell to expedite the process. He then served Malack as a thrall for a short period before Malack's destruction at Nale's hands, following which he immediately attacked Nale and Zz'dtri. After killin Zz'dtri, he immediately moved to help the Order, pointing out to Roy that the world was still at stake and that that Durkon's new alignment didn't mean he was any more evil than Belkar. A rumor is that his current state of undeath is a key point in fulfilling his prophecy that he will return home posthumously and that he will also bring destruction to his homeland. (Needs confirmation) Personality, Traits and Abilities Durkon was something of a stereotypical dwarf, wearing heavy armor, carrying a powerful weapon, possessing a low charisma, having a great interest in beer and so forth, although - as noted in the paragraph below - he also subverted this stereotype somewhat. He was a very honest person, although he did not always tell the whole truth. He was dutiful, pious (often attributing his god Thor with more purpose and planning than the rather wild god is actually capable of), unassuming and stoic. He believed in speaking plainly, rarely resorting to the wit or sarcasm often used (or at least attempted) by his teammates. He spoke (and, oddly enough, wrote) with a Scottish accent. Though not immune to temptation, he believed strongly in proper behavior; while he ogled Haley along with the rest of the males in the party on one occasion when she suffered a 'wardrobe malfunction', he chastised Julia Greenhilt when she attempted to flirt with him to gain his attention. This is probably because, while the party saw Haley naked by accident, Julia was attempting to use her body on him deliberately, and Durkon's strong morals prevented such behavior. While Durkon generally fitted the concept of a dwarf very well, he was much like other members of his party in that he's a counter-stereotype, too, this time of the traditional "drunken dwarf fighter". Despite loving beer, Durkon had never been shown as drunk, and was fully capable of holding massive amounts of liquor (drinking ten beers in ten seconds while New Year's was counting down in Azure City and it has been noted in the Priest's letter that dwarves have 2 livers). Likewise, though most dwarves in fantasy novels are the goofy comic relief, Durkon was the other "straight man" besides Roy (who is also a counter-stereotype of his class) of his party; and despite wearing heavy armor and weapons, Durkon tended to rely more on his spells than his sheer physical might. It has been noted though, that "He'd be a pretty good warrior if he had a better head for numbers". He also showed little indication of the stereotypical dwarven greed. Upon conquering a bandit clan, he ordered them to prepare a lunch for the Order for the road, and a giant gold tankard of beer for his own personal use. However, his very next order would be for the clan to disband, as banditry is not only wrong, it is also dangerous. Durkon had been described in the print comic, On The Origin Of PCs, as being lawful. In Chapter 844 of the main series, Haley notes that his full alignment is Lawful Good. He hated the undead and reflexively tried to turn them as soon as they are even mentioned. He also, apparently in common with the rest of his people, had a severe phobia regarding trees, believing them to be powerful stealthy monsters. Based on the spells and abilities he had displayed or had attributed to him by other characters, he was at least 13th level, as that is the minimum level to cast Resurrection. He was an active worshiper of Thor, always wearing a W.W.T.D (What Would Thor Do?) prayer necklace. He had been bald for forty years - apparently, he went bald at 15. The Order of the Stick Adventure Game Durkon Thundershield is one of the characters players may choose when playing the Order of the Stick Adventure Game. The abilities of the character are reflective of his personality and skills as depicted in the comic, with cards titled such things as Thor's Lightning, Cure Assorted Wounds, and W.W.T.D.?. One of his "Loot" obtainable in the game include "Shield of Sparrow Deflection," "Beer of Annilation," and "Thor's Love," which is a note in the shape of a heart with laces. Category:Characters Category:Dwarves Category:Clerics Category:Lawful Good Characters Category:Males Category:Order of the Stick Category:Good Characters Category:Undead Characters